Chapter 22 The calm before storm

She got up from the bed and then with the support of the nightstand, walked towards the bathroom.

Finally, washing her face with water made her a little relieved. She looked at herself in the mirror and was reminded of the day when she broke it.

There was a brand new mirror in front of her now. But she wanted to do the same as before. After so long, looking at herself felt like she wasn’t looking at herself but someone else.

She wasn’t her anymore. How different she has become now? She doesn’t even recognize herself. She was broken beyond repair.

The things she did today made her feel like dying. There was nothing more shameless than acting like a slut in front of the person she hated the most.

With one more glance at her, she fell down on the bathroom floor. There were no tears in her eyes, but she was still crying. Her heart was hurt in a way it could never heal.

“What have I turned myself into?”

She walked out of the bathroom and noticed Ayden wasn’t there. Previously, she didn’t notice him because of the headache.

She wore her pyjamas and walked out of the room. She heard Grace’s cries and ran towards her room.

Mom and Freya both were there in the room pacifying the little baby. Eve came and took Grace from mom. When mom saw her, she was partially tensed, partially happy.

“Are you okay now, Eve?” She asked. Eve was about to answer it when Freya jumped in between.

“Where have you been since the afternoon? Do you know this little brat has made my head spin because of her cries?” She shouted at her.

“Freya, don’t talk to her like that. She was not well. And also, Grace is your daughter… it’s your duty to raise her not hers. You should be thankful to her for her help but look at you!” Mom said, totally annoyed with her.

“Mom, you go and rest. I’ll put her to sleep.” Eve said.

“You don’t look well, Eve. Give her to me. She is almost asleep now. I’ll be with her. You go and rest.” Mom said.

Again cutting Eve, Freya spoke, “She looks fine, mom. You also know Bryan isn’t here. And the best person who can handle this brat…I mean Grace is Eve.

“Yes mom, she’s right. Please go and sleep. I’ll take care of her. Ayden isn’t home either.” Stopping mom from further talking to her as it would be of no use.

“They’ll be late today. You take Grace to your room then. That will be perfect.” Freya said, referring to Ayden and Bryan.

“Why? What happened?” Eve asked, feeling a little nervous.

“There’s some problem. Bryan was already there with all the other men. They called Ayden and he also had to leave. Something big happened, maybe. Ayden was very furious when he left.” Mom replied.

Eve became a little tense, thinking about all the things but then convinced herself that she did the right thing and he would never find anything about it.

“Don’t worry about it, Eve. They’ll handle it.” Mom assured her. She just smiled.

Eve was already feeling low today and now being with Grace would be the best. Thinking of which, she nodded and walked away from the room.

She put Grace on the bed and some pillows on one side of the bed. Then on the other side, she laid down. She already slept a lot, so sleep was nowhere close to her eyes.

Grace wasn’t sleeping and was looking at Eve as if she wanted to speak to her. Eve kissed her cheeks multiple times and she smiled at her.

“Gracie… let me tell you a story as you’re in no mood to sleep anyway.” She said, kissing her forehead.

“Once upon a time there was a princess who lived in a castle with her parents. Her parents loved her so much and she loved them too. She also had a sister, Christina whom she loved the most.” She looked at Grace who was staring at her as if hearing the story.

“One day, the princess and her sister, bored of living in the castle all the time, went outside. She was very happy with the new surroundings, feeling free for the first time in her life. But then…” She paused for a second.

“A monster appeared in front of her and kidnapped both the princesses. The princess begged him to let them go. Finally, the monster agreed but on one condition. He said he would let Christina go if the princess agrees to live with him.” A tear escaped from her eye.

“The princess agreed because she loved her sister the most. The monster took the princess to his house and imprisoned her. Everyday, the princess used to cry because she missed her sister and her parents. But the monster never let her go. Her world became black and white.”

“After all that, one day an angel appeared in her prison. She looked at her condition and felt bad for her. So, she gave her a little baby so that she wouldn’t be alone.” She said with a smile while caressing Grace’s face. Grace was now yawning.

“The little baby brought hope with her and filled the princess’s world with colours. Whenever she looked at her, she would smile.”

Grace moved closer to her and put her hand on her hand, closing her eyes. She was literally an angel for Eve.

“Thank you, baby. You’re my sunshine.” With this, she caressed her back and after some time, she was asleep.

“But the princess wants to break free from the prison. Will she be able to?” She said looking at Grace.

On the other hand, Ayden and Bryan along with their men were in a shipyard. Ayden was standing in the middle of the place, looking dangerous.

“We don’t know how they got to know about the location.” One of the men said.

Some of the NSF members who they’ve kidnapped were transferred to this new place but the NSF got a sniff of it.

“Don’t worry, boss. Those people don’t know anything about us. They will be of no use to the NSF.” The other man said.

“Now that they’ve learnt that those men know nothing, don’t you think that’s a problem. Don’t try to conceal your mistakes by making excuses. Someone from us is the culprit. And the day I’ll find him, that will be his last day on earth.” Ayden seethed.

For the whole night, Ayden and Bryan remained there. The other groups also came together for a meeting. They also put forward their strategies to move further.

After a full night, they finally returned home. Eve was in the kitchen with Laura. Mom took Grace from her to take her to Freya in order to feed her. Bryan walked directly to Grace’s room.

Ayden was in the living room when he realized something. He called Eve and she came out of the kitchen. Grabbing her hand forcefully, he took her upstairs.

‘What if he knows!’